Left Behind? What to do.

Written by Peter S. Ruckman

Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 "Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 "But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
Some day soon, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to return and take all the born-again Christians to heaven. These instructions are written to the people who are left behind, to tell them what to do after they have missed the Rapture. We are warning you about this now, because we won't be around then. All of these instructions are found in the Holy Bible, which is the first thing you're going to need to find out what is going on.

----1. Don't get excited. ----
If you never worried about the Rapture before it happened, then it is absolutely useless to worry about it after it's already over. If you had wanted to get right with God before the Rapture, you could have, but you chose to wait. Now your only chance is to stay on the earth and to endure to the end of the Tribulation. Matthew 24: 13 says, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." It is useless for you to bang your head on the wall and scream and holler.
The Christians are gone-they are all gone. If you had a little baby, the little baby is gone. "Sin is not imputed when there is no law" (Romans 5: 13). Sin is not charged while the child is still innocent, so you don't have to worry about the baby. The baby is with Jesus.

---- 2. Start working your way to heaven. ----
If the Lord comes and you remain behind, then start working like a madman to get to heaven, because you're going to have to. You have entered a period of time called "The Great Tribulation," and the plan of salvation in the Tribulation is faith in Jesus Christ plus your own good works.
Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
Revelation 6:9 " ... I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:"
Revelation 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are they that do his command­ments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
Revelation 7:14 " ... These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
You must keep the Ten Commandments (all of them, Ecclesi­astes 12:13), keep the Golden Rule (l John 3:10), give your money to the poor, get baptized, take up your cross, hold out to the end of the Tribulation, wait for Jesus Christ to show up at the Battle of Armageddon, and be prepared to die for what you believe. In the Tribulation, you cannot be saved by grace alone like you could before the Rapture.
Before the Rapture, you could have been saved by grace through faith plus nothing (Ephesians 2:8-9), but one minute after the Rap­ture took place you must get out the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule and start learning them, because you're going to be judged by them (Matthew 25:31-46). The way to get to heaven in the Tribulation is to earn it: do right by God, and do right by your fellow man as well.
Isaiah 1:16 "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."

----3. Don't take any mark or any number.----
The Bible says whoever takes the mark of the beast goes to Hell.
Revelation 14:9 "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indigna­tion; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."
When somebody comes around and wants to put any number on your body or give you a number, especially the number 6-6-6, DO NOT take it. People have heard so much about the "mark of the beast" that they think it's a joke that will never happen. Well, a few decades ago in Germany, every Jew was required to wear a six pointed star. It would be just as easy for the government to require every citizen to take a number and a mark.
In the book of Revelation a man shows up on this earth called the Antichrist. His number is 666. He comes from Rome. He has connections with Moscow, but he comes from Rome (Revelation 17: 18). This fellow will take over the entire world and become the main political and religious leader. When he does, he will pass legislation and establish a global economic system, designed so that you can't buy, sell, or eat unless you take his mark or the number of his name. Now, it isn't that you won't have enough money. You will be in a store buying your groceries, and when you get in line they will say, "Put your hand in the machine." You put your hand in the machine, and if that mark shows up in your hand, you can take the groceries, and if it doesn't, you can't buy anything no matter how much money you have.
" ... no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."Revelation 13: 17
Revelation 13:16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."
It must be a terrible thing to be a mother and hear your little baby cry for milk and be unable to get any milk. It would be a terrible thing to have your baby crying, "Momma, I'm hungry," and the fellow at the store saying, "Lady, all you got to do is get this mark."
They will tell you to conform. They will point out that even the world leaders have the mark. Presidents, kings, queens, prime min­isters, governors, mayors, city councilmen, neighbors, friends, and even relatives have the mark. It's only the Bible that says it's wrong.
The baby's sick, and you want medicine: "Do you have the mark?" You pull into a gas station: "You got the mark?" It doesn't matter whether or not they have the gas, it matters if you have the mark .
Don't take a mark, and don't take a number. You will go to Hell if you do. The Bible says so; if you don't believe this booklet, then check it out, read the Bible for yourself.

---- 4. Get fanatical. ----
"...but he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved." Mark 13:13
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."  Revelation 14:12
  Be a religious fanatic. Die as a martyr. Be fanatical after Christ comes, because when Christ catches the Christians off this earth and takes them up, you are going to be up against the devil, with his people trying to control you or kill you.
Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
It will take faith in Christ's shed blood, plus works-exactly as in the Old Testament it took faith in shed blood and works. Notice:
Isaiah 1:16 "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."
Proverbs 28:13 "He that covereth his sins shall not pros­per: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
Psalm 51:1 "Have mercy upon me, 0 God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mer­cies blot out my transgressions.
2 "Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."
Revelation 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence­forth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."
If somebody calls you in and says, "Raise your hand and swear by God that the Antichrist is King of kings and Lord of lords," then keep your hand down and say, "Jesus Christ is the Lord." Stand up against your friends and against your boss and against the way your parents raised you. It is too late to give up a few hours on Sunday for the Lord. In the Tribulation, you may have to lose your job for the Bible, lose your money for religious convictions, and lose your life for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Most people were indifferent to God, indifferent to the Bible, indifferent to Christ, and indifferent to the Second Coming. The only thing that upset most people was what affected their finances or their egos. But now in the Tribulation, you have to put first things first. Nobody in the Tribulation gets to heaven unless he escapes the Antichrist, or else he faces the Antichrist and refuses to take the mark of the beast or the number and has his head cut off.
Revelation 20:4 " ... I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."

---- 5. Support the Jewish people.
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she [Israel] hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."Revelation 12:6
When Jesus returns at the Second Coming, all will face "The Judgment of Nations":
Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"
The test for a Gentile is how he treated Jesus' brethren: the Jews. Remember Hitler? Well, the Antichrist will be ten times worse. At first, he will negotiate a peace treaty with the nation of Israel (Isaiah 28:15), but three and a half years later he will break the covenant and try to destroy them (Daniel 9:27; Mark 13:13-25; Matthew 24:4-51). But whatever you do, don't assist the Holocaust, because the Lord will judge anyone who stops the Jews from escaping:
Obadiah 14 "Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
15 "For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head."
Always help the Jewish people. Go against the government, go against established religion, be willing even to sacrifice yourself and your family to save the lives of Jews, because they are God's people, and He gave them His blessing. He said to their father Abraham:
Genesis 12:3 "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
Later, God said to the nation of Israel:
Isaiah 41:11 "Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish."
So no matter how much pressure you are put under, never hurt a Jew. Your own soul depends upon it.
What you should have done was to get saved BEFORE the Rapture. However, the vast majority of people on this earth missed out on the Rapture. This is because there has never been a time in history when the majority were right about spiritual things. Jesus Christ was the one who said, "BROAD is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there be which go in thereat" (Matthew 7:13). The same Saviour said, "The love of MANY shall wax cold ... MANY shall be offended ... MANY false prophets shall rise" (Matthew 24:10-12). The world does not care to believe these warnings, exactly as it rejected the warnings in Noah's day of the coming Deluge which was to destroy all of the civilizations of that time. For more than 120 years before the Flood, men were warned about the approaching catastrophe. It came. Christ said, "AS IT W AS IN THE DAYS OF NOE, so shall it be also in the days of THE SON OF MAN" (Luke 17:26).
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be.” Matthew 24:21
“… and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood…” Revelation 8:7

If you were in the company of a saved person when the Rap­ture took place, you have no doubt about the catastrophe, for you found yourself standing next to a heap of clothing soaked in blood (1 Corinthians 15:50). The terrible and tragic truth is apparent that the believers have gone, and you are left behind. The prophetic word says that you are now in "the time of Jacob's [Israel's] trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7), which Christ called "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21). This period of time will be approximately SEVEN years long and has been referred to by Biblical scholars as "Daniel's Seventieth Week" (Daniel 9). If the Rapture has preceded your reading of this booklet, then you are NOW in this period. This period will be unparalleled in trouble and horror. Jesus Christ said:
Matthew 24:21 "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. "
Now what must you do? You have to do all the things ex­plained above, and you must do them quickly and thoroughly if you ever hope to obtain eternal salvation and be accepted by God. If you want to know whether or not these instructions are absolute truth or only someone's opinion, get a Bible as quickly as you can and read Matthew 24 and 25, Hebrews 6 and 10, and Revelation 13 and 19.
Start now. The salvation of your soul depends upon it. Act now and determine that, come what may, you will not take "the mark of the beast." You still have a chance to be saved, but this time you will have to be "faithful unto death."
You may have anywhere from a month to seven years until the Second Coming, depending upon when you read these lines. But the Great Tribulation will end, and it will end with "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2: 13). May God find you ready in that hour.

WARNING: Almost all of the past Christian literature about the way of salvation is now obsolete. Beware that you are not deceived:
Matthew 24:11 "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."

if the Rapture has not taken place as yet, don’t procrastinate: tomorrow may really be too late.
2 Corinthians 6:2 “…behold, now is the accepted time; be hold, now is the day of salvation.”
If this sounds like foolishness to you, consider this verse:
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural [unsaved] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for thet are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

MILLIONS DISAPPEAR! FACT OR FICTION?

Healthy Minute- Apple Cider Vinegar

I took piano lessons growing up. My last piano teacher was an elderly 90 year old woman named Mrs. McMullen. She was quite an amazing lady who still played the piano in our church.
One day while we were over there for lessons, her arm was held in a sling. If you peeked inside the sling, you saw this swollen purple and blue mass where her arm should be. My mother asked her why she didn't use one of her all natural recipes, like her apple cider vinegar water. She told us later that it made all the difference in the world!
Apple cider vinegar is an amazing thing! It's made from long fermentation of apple cider, past the point of wine or alcohol, into a pungent vinegar. If you get the good kind, there will be some thick sediment in the bottom of the jar- some people call that sediment "the mother".
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has a host of health benefits internally and externally! Taken internally it can help ease arthritis symptoms by dissolving the built up crystals between the joints, it can help with digestive troubles and ease heartburn, it helps to lower cholesterol, aids in weight loss, and can even clear stuffed sinuses. And, that's just the beginning.
You can steam your face with a bit of it and water to help clear up acne, or rub it undiluted on a sunburn to ease the pain (follow with a good all-natural moisturizer). It can be used diluted as a toner after washing your face. It's even said to help fade bruises.
Personally, I use it as a steam to clear my sinuses and my acne. I use it almost daily diluted in half with water as a facial toner after I wash my face, but before I use moisturizer. And I drink it for it's health benefits, using Mrs. McMullen's recipe: 1/4 cup ACV vinegar, 1/3 cup raw honey, 1 gallon filtered water.
For more information, watch the video below:

Nourishing Traditions book review

Nourishing Traditions is more than a cookbook. It's one of those books that you just like to look through without the intent of making something out of it.
Author Sally Fallon compiled a list of recipes from the past that not only taste wonderful, but also nourish the body. This book contains the recipes for bone broth, fermented veggies and all-natural fizzy drinks, and some other wonderful recipes from around the world. In the side margins of the book there are notes, stories, and history lessons on the origins of different recipes presented within it's pages.
I've made several of the recipes and they are well written, easy to follow, and pretty delicious; Though there are also present recipes that make me wrinkle my nose!
If you've ever wondered how people kept food fresh without electricity or refrigeration, without the ability to can or freeze, then this is the book for you!

What to Do in Light of the End (video sermon)

What would you do if you knew that it was the end of all things?

Peter in God's Word says to be sober and watch unto prayer. Paul in God's Word says to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light. We aren't suppose to live the last bit of our time in selfish, worldly lusts. We shouldn't be marking things off our carnal "bucket list". We are suppose to put the pedal to the metal in our prayer life and in our Spiritual warfare.

Paul tells us to be sober minded. Peter says to be sober. When you think of sober, you think of the opposite of drunkenness. A drunkard can be very prideful, arrogant. They can be impulsive. They can easily be swayed into questionable actions. But, the drunkard  always says, "I will seek it yet again."

The devil is not going to slow down his attacks just because the end is nigh. No! He ramps up his efforts. You start living for self, being prideful, and rejecting God's will for your life, and you are making yourself devil bait! At our best state we are all together vanity! We shouldn't go on our way and forget that. We should be sober minded when looking at ourselves.

The next thing Peter says is to watch unto prayer. The reason we don't pray the way we should is because we don't see things the way they are. Laodecia doesn't see their need because they are rich and in need of nothing in their own eyes. Christ says blessed are the poor. Why? Because they cry out to God! They watch unto prayer. They are sober minded in their needs.

Every good and perfect gift comes from God. That's why we shouldn't trust in worldly riches. Riches fly away- bills, taxes, repairs, etc. It's here one minute, gone the next. We need a glimpse of reality. Christ says to watch and pray. Watch for the needs and pray that God sends the fulfillment for them.

Paul says to watch and be sober. The end of all things is at hand. We shouldn't be fast asleep, like Peter in the Garden. We should be fervently seeking God's face to know His will in our Christian walk. We should be sober minded in our prayer life.

Now, what does Peter say should be "above all"? Charity. Paul even says that charity is to be desired above all other gifts. Spiritual gifts are very, very important. I Corinthians 12 tells us about spiritual gifts, and then he compares them to charity in I Corinthians 13. The end conclusion is that without charity they are nothing- they won't profit you a dime! And Peter concurs with Paul's assessment.

There are many "Charity" organizations out there. People are constantly giving charitable contributions for a multitude of different things- cancer, disaster relief, help for the poor, etc. But, where there is money, there is the temptation of the love of money. God wants you to be a good steward of His money.

But, charity is more than monetary donations. Charity is an action that you have with others. Sometimes charity rebukes sin. Sometimes charity over-looks faults. Sometimes charity loves in spite of the unlovable character. Sometimes charity gives without expecting recompense. We should be sober minded in our charity.

We are to be the opposite of the drunkard. We should be humble. We should advance prayerfully and carefully on decisions. We should stand firm in what is right. And, we should learn from our mistakes. We should be sober minded.
  

Believer's Heritage- John Gibson Patton

The New Hebrides Islands were discovered in 1606. These islands stretched from Hawaii to Australia through the Pacific Ocean, and were full of indigenous people who were cannibals. From the time missionaries started to show up on their shores many were killed by the people they had come to help.
John Gibson Paton was born in Scotland in May 1824. It was only 15 years after his birth that the first known missionaries were sent to the New Hebrides Islands and were killed the same year. The islands were filled with the blood of sinners needing a Savior, and now was added the blood of martyrs bringing the message of salvation.
When John told others of his call, He heard, "You will be eaten by cannibals!"  John knew the stories. He had heard them often. But, John accepted the criticism. He had made up his mind that he was going to do what the Lord wanted from him no matter what others had to say about it.
When he and his wife, Mary, arrived at the islands in 1858 they both understood the fate that could await them. Not five months after landing there, Mary and her infant son, Peter, died from a sickness. John spent four years trying to reach the inhabitants alone until he was driven from the island.
What would cause a man to continue in these conditions? Most people would have looked at his life and said that he had done all that he could. They wouldn't have blamed him for giving up. But, he didn't. John had heeded the call. He knew what the Lord wanted from his life and he was going to do it.
John remarried a woman named Margaret in 1864 and together they went back to the islands and served together for 41 years. John admitted that sometimes he thought his labor was in vain; it seemed that the people would never be able to turn their backs on their dark traditions to the light of the Savior. Sickness often attacked them as they endeavored to serve the Lord on this small island. Hurricanes and shipwreck took the life of his next son in 1873. Was it worth it?
John heard about the success of John Geddie on another of the New Hebrides islands and took heart. Yes, it was worth it. Though the cost was great, he had already decided to pay it. The price steep, but John knew it would eventually be worth it.
He decided to build orphanages to raise up a generation who weren't steeped in tradition. He learned their language and composed a written form of it. He and Margaret saw a great revival in the people of his little island. God also sent him a companion, Abraham, a converted cannibal from Geddie's ministry, came to help in their labors.
He published a New Testament in their language and translated many hymns. He kept journals during his time there from which he wrote his autobiography John G. Paton- a three part series of his faith through blessing and loss. In the end, John had reaped the reward!
Margaret died in 1905, and John followed two years later. His life had been encouraged by the Scripture, LO, I am with you alway, and now he was with the One whom he had faithfully served all these years.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies recipe

2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cups softened butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 oz white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350* and grease a baking dish.
Mix all ingredients together, adding in the chocolate chips and nuts last.
Bake in a greased pan at 350* for about 1 hour. Check after 50 minutes, and every five minutes thereafter, until golden brown and firm.

Who is on the Lord's Side? (song)

Keeping On (poem)

I've dreamed many dreams that never came true,
I saw them vanish at dawn.
But, I've realized enough of my dreams
To make me keep dreaming on.

I've prayed many prayers to which no answer came
Though I waited patient and long.
But, answers have come to enough of my prayers
To help me keep praying on.

I have trusted many a friend who failed
And left me to weep alone;
But, I've found enough of my friends to be true
To make me keep trusting on.

I've sown many seeds that fell by the way
For the birds to feed upon;
But, I've held enough golden sheaves in my hand
To help me keep sowing on.

I've spoken many a careless, thoughtless word,
And suffered remorse for the wrong;
But, cheer and a smile brought by words worth while,
Have made me keep speaking on.

I've written many verses and rhymes
That were soon forgotten and gone;
But, the joys just a few of them made in life
Have made me keep writing on.

Many blotches I've made in the great book of life,
As the pages turn on and on;
But, I find enough beauty in each turning page
To make me keep turning on.

I've drained the cup of disappointment and pain
And gone many days without a song;
But, I've sipped enough nectar from the roses of life
To make me want to live on.

-Author Unknown

What Do You Have To Lose?

You are always hearing people say, "What have you got to lose?" It's interesting that people ask that, because it seems there is always a price tag associated with anything, even if you can't see it!
As a Christian, we do have a good amount to lose- in this world and the next! The best person to see this from is Lot in the Old Testament.
Genesis 19:15-24- And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
The story of Lot is quite a sad one. His Uncle Abram allows him to choose where he wants to live. And he did not choose wisely. He went to live near the wicked town of Sodom because he saw that it was a good place for cattle.
Many times as Christians we make our choices based on how things look, not how God sees them. We choose to marry someone who looks Christian. The job that looks like it would be good. The career path that seems to be promising. But, we often fail to see what God's will is because we simply don't ask him. And then we want to complain when things start to fall apart.
Lot didn't ask God's direction,  he chose to go towards the wicked city and ended up living in it. And then came God's judgement. Lot's life was saved as the angel's forced him, his wife, and the two daughters he had left living at home out of Sodom before the judgement fell. What did he have to lose? Worldly speaking, he lost everything!
As Christians, when we make our choices based on what we want, there is much we can lose in this life:
We can lose our health. Have you ever seen a man who does nothing but work at that promising job? What about the person who married that "good Christian"? How about the one struggling at college because they just had to go down that specific career path? Some times God sends troubles our way, yes, but some times we bring them down on our selves! And it can destroy our health.
Proverbs 5:11- And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
We can lose our testimony. Many a Sunday is lost while at the job place. Many a Christian life is destroyed by trying to please the one they married. And many Christians fall to temptations while working to get their degree or living around the wickedness in the career of their choosing. They destroy our testimony!
1 Corinthians 5:11, 13- But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
We can lose our life. Once you go against God's will for so long He may decide to take you out. God doesn't like when our lives mock Him. And He may destroy our flesh!
1 Corinthians 3:16-17- Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
But, what about the here-after? "It's my life let me live it" doesn't end when we die. We stand before God and give an account. What have we got to lose?
First, we can lose the crowns we earned to wear. Those little bits of rewards that we gain from living for Christ, denying the flesh, and serving His will. God takes everything we do for Him into consideration. All of our efforts translate into gold, silver, and precious stones, and crowns which we can lay at Christ's feet. We can lose our crowns!
Revelation 3:11- Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
We can lose our reign. Those who suffer with the Lord here on earth, and those who deny their wants and desires to accomplish the will of God will be given a reign during the millenium. Those who serve themselves will be denied a reign.
2 Timothy 2:11-12- It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
We can lose our glory. God doesn't make everything the same. Each person is different and unique, possessing talents and gifts that God has given them to accomplish His will in their lives. Why do you think He would erase our uniqueness in heaven? Paul says that he bears in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. When we are living in eternity our bodies will be glorified, but the amount of glory will be directly related to how we served Christ on earth.
1 Corinthians 15:38-43- But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
So, Christian, what do you have to lose? Quite a bit!